Many garbage disposals are available on the market today. The principal type of garbage disposal available today uses a circular disk rotatable about a vertical axis in a cylindrical grinding chamber defined in the unit housing, also oriented along a vertical axis. The disk may carry centrifugally operated hammers which cooperate with stationary blades or projections carried in the grinding chamber to comminute garbage dropped onto the top of the circular disk with the comminuted garbage passing into the conventional sewer system between the periphery of the circular disk and the unit housing. This type of garbage disposal has a number of problems and disadvantages associated therewith. One problem is that thin sheet material can pass around the periphery of the circular disk and into the sewer system without being comminuted and frequently causes blockage of the sewer system. It is further difficult for this garbage disposal to comminute thin sheet material, especially when it is elastic, such as animal skin thereby frequently requiring removal of the garbage from the grinding chamber which the disposal will not comminute. Another problem associated with this type garbage disposal is that the drive shaft for the circular disk must extend out the bottom of the grinding chamber and thus creates sealing problems about this shaft. Further this type of garbage disposal usually mounts the drive motor in the housing directly on the drive shaft of the circular disk. This not only makes it difficult to gain access to the drive motor to repair or replace same but also transmits a large portion of the shocks on the circular disk directly to the drive motor shaft.
Attempts have also been made to use a hammer mill principle of operation in a garbage disposal, however, his type of disposal has not enjoyed widespread use because of a number of problems and disadvantages. One of the problems is that the construction cost of this type unit has been sufficiently high that this type unit has not enjoyed economic success. Further, this type unit usually does not possess the ability to handle the wide variety of materials in the garbage presented to it. Another problem is that this type unit is difficult to disassemble for repair.